Lionsgate's Attempt to Put a Handler on Heist—and the Producer-Director War That Followed

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Lionsgate's Attempt to Put a Handler on Heist—and the Producer-Director War That Followed

Randall Emmett, Scott Mann and Heist / 2010s

During production of the 2015 action film Heist, Lionsgate reportedly pressured EFO to hire director Scott Mann not only to make the movie but also to "handle" Randall Emmett, a striking indication of the producer's reputation inside the production. Instead of creating a stable partnership, the arrangement allegedly produced an ongoing struggle over control. Emmett was said to have made Mann's job difficult through last-minute script changes and reductions in the amount of time available to shoot the film. The director was therefore forced to wrestle with a shifting screenplay, compressed logistics and a production structure in which the person financing and producing the picture was also interfering with the conditions under which it could be directed. When Heist was released, reviews criticized its preposterous plot and second-tier performances, with some observers describing Mann's direction as battling material and circumstances beyond his control. Yet the film performed better than expected at the box office, allowing Emmett to continue financing and releasing similarly inexpensive action pictures despite the critical response.